Burning (damp) garden stuff
Discussion
Recently bought a garden incinerator (basically a dustbin with holes in) to burn grass cuttings and leaves etc etc as the dustmen don't come frequently enough and won't take enough anyway. All good, however, most of the garden refuse is damp. Any suggestions to getting the damn thing hot enough for me to just throw it all in before i use my rag?
I have tried layering with paper, then dry wood and even some charcoal to get it up to temp but none of it really gets hot enough to burn anything quick enough. What am i doing wrong?
And yes, i also have tried plenty of petrol to kick things off too.
Cheers
I have tried layering with paper, then dry wood and even some charcoal to get it up to temp but none of it really gets hot enough to burn anything quick enough. What am i doing wrong?
And yes, i also have tried plenty of petrol to kick things off too.
Cheers
Save the leaves to make leaf mould for mulching borders with. Don't box off the grass clippings unless you've got a croquet/bowls lawn (although depending on your mower you may need a mulching kit, or a different mower).
Trying to burn wet material in a little garden incinerator is madness, it just isn't big enough to get any heat into it.
Trying to burn wet material in a little garden incinerator is madness, it just isn't big enough to get any heat into it.
Quite apart from the difficulty of burning wet stuff, our experience with a purchased garden incinerator was that the thing didn't last very long. Ours was made of very thin galvanised steel, and although it looked very smart when new, it died due to corrosion after a few months. With that sort of thing you need to clean it out after every burning session. If you leave ash in it and the ash gets wet, this seems to increase the rate of corrosion.
If you have spare garden space I think it's best to spread the rubbish out a bit so it has a chance to dry before trying to burn it, either on a normal bonfire or in a more robust incinerator, like an old oil drum, for example.
If you have spare garden space I think it's best to spread the rubbish out a bit so it has a chance to dry before trying to burn it, either on a normal bonfire or in a more robust incinerator, like an old oil drum, for example.
I got mine going the other day with a rolson lighter and an unwanted can of Xmas deodorant aimed at the bottom until it really took.
As others, have said, get the fire going with real wood and then the only way to keep burning damp stuff is to slowly add it on.
No chance of just dumping on a heap and walking off or it will just die out in a thick cloud of heavy white smoke.
If it needs a kick start, and rolling cardboard into a tube to make a flame chimney also works, and provided there's enough dry material for the fire to take onto.
As others, have said, get the fire going with real wood and then the only way to keep burning damp stuff is to slowly add it on.
No chance of just dumping on a heap and walking off or it will just die out in a thick cloud of heavy white smoke.
If it needs a kick start, and rolling cardboard into a tube to make a flame chimney also works, and provided there's enough dry material for the fire to take onto.
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